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Court Organization Statistics
Summary
findings | BJS publications | Related
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Summary
findings
Courts
and judges
In 1998 --
there were 208
statewide general and limited jurisdiction trial court systems in the
United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. About 9,065
full time authorized judges served in the 71 statewide trial court systems
of general jurisdiction alone.
there were 132 courts
of appeal, including the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeal.
The combined full-time Federal and State appellate bench in 1998 had a
reported 1,474 members. About 75% or 1,108 appellate judges served on
intermediate appellate courts.
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Judicial
selection and service
Twenty one (42%) of
the 50 States selected their appellate judges through a gubernatorial appointment
and 3 by legislative appointment in 1998. An additional 14 States used non-partisan
elections, 8 partisan elections and 4 retention elections.
Initial/pre-bench
education for general jurisdiction judges was required in 30 States (including
Puerto Rico), for limited jurisdiction judges in 31 States, and in 9 States
for appellate judges. Continuing education for general jurisdiction judges
was required in 44 States, for limited jurisdiction judges in 42 States,
and in 38 States for appellate judges.
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The
judicial branch
Every State has
a judicial branch which is headed by the court of last resort in 13 States,
the Chief Justice of the court of last resort in 36 States, and in one
State, Utah, the Judicial Council.
In the majority
of States (33), the head of the judicial branch is established by the
State Constitution. In the remaining States, authority is established
either by State statue or some combination of both.
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State appellate court systems
Appellate courts
implement various strategies to make the workload of appellate courts
more efficient. Thirty seven States, by 1998, for example, had some expedited
briefing procedures in their appellate court systems (table 26). Eighteen
States had accelerated or special calendars in some courts for specific
case types (table 27), and all but 12 States had some limitation on oral
arguments in criminal and/or civil cases.
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Specialized
courts
There were 327 drug
courts across 43 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in 1998.
The majority of drug courts were established between 1992 and 1996. During
1998, drug courts were established in Maine and Mississippi.
By 1998, all but
17 States had family courts that served some number of counties, districts,
or were statewide. These courts typically had jurisdiction over domestic
and marital matters such as divorce, child custody and support, and domestic
violence.
There are currently
over 450 tribal justice forums among the 556 Federally recognized tribes
in the United States. Sixteen States have assumed mandatory or optional
jurisdiction over tribal lands, pursuant to Public Law 280.
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The
jury
In most States,
the minimum age to serve on a jury was 18. The minimum age in Missouri
and Montana, however, was 21 years of age. There was some residency requirement
to serve on a jury in all States, and literacy and/or language requirements
in all but 8 States.
Grand jury indictments
for all felony prosecutions were required in 14 States and in an additional
4 States for capital and/or life imprisonment cases. The size of grand
juries ranged from 6 members in Indiana to 23 members in Maryland and
Massachusetts.
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The
sentencing context
In non-capital felony
cases, original sentences were set by a jury in 46 States, the District
of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and by a judge in 6 States. The judge can
alter the jury sentence or recommendation in 4 States - Arkansas, Indiana,
Kentucky and Missouri.
Of the 37 States
with the death penalty in capital felony cases during 1998, original sentences
were set by a jury in 23 States, by a judge in 5 States, and by a judge
with the recommendation of the jury in 7 States.
In 1998 collateral
consequences for felony convictions were in place in all States. In most
States, a felony conviction was associated with the restriction of voting
rights, parental rights, public employment, jury duty service, and firearm
ownership.
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BJS
Publications
This list is in
order of the most recent publication first. Additional titles are listed
on other topical pages and a comprehensive list is contained on the
BJS publications page. To see a full abstract
of a publication with links to electronic versions of the publication,
click on the title below.
State Court Organization 1998,
6/00. The fourth guide to the Nation's courts sponsored by BJS and the
third prepared by the National Center for State Courts, includes an examination
of Federal courts, as well as charts that summarize each State court structure.
NCJ 178932
State Court Organization
1993, 2/95. NCJ 148346
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